U.S. nuclear reactors are deemed safe

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspectors have confirmed that the nation's 104 operating nuclear reactors are capable of cooling their reactor cores in the event of an emergency. NRC began the inspection process following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. Inspections focused on three areas: reactor safety, radiation safety and safeguards. Within each area, inspectors analyzed emergency preparedness, mitigating systems, initiating events, barrier integrity, public radiation safety, occupational radiation safety and physical protection.

"Out of 65 operating reactor sites, 12 had issues with one or more of the requirements during the inspections," NRC said in releasing the results. "Many of these discrepancies deal with training. Three of the 12 sites have already resolved their issues, and the remaining sites are actively working to resolve theirs."

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